Ohio school district: Jesus portrait should stay

In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 photo, a portrait of Jesus hangs in the hallway at Jackson Middle School in Jackson, Ohio. The superintendent of the southern Ohio district facing a federal lawsuit over the Jesus portrait says it's been moved to a high school at the preference of the Christian-based student club that the district views as the picture's owner. (AP Photo/WBNS-10 TV)

CINCINNATI (AP) - A Jesus portrait in an Ohio high school does not violate the constitutional prohibition against endorsing religion in a public school, and ordering it removed would violate students' free speech rights, the school district argued in court documents filed Tuesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Freedom from Religion Foundation sued the southern Ohio district of Jackson City in February, charging that the portrait then displayed in the district's middle school illegally promotes religion in a public school. The portrait was moved last month to the high school at the request of the Christian-oriented student club that owns the picture, and the ACLU and the foundation asked the judge Monday for a temporary order removing the portrait from there.

The complaint about the portrait has left the 2,500-student district in the midst of an ongoing national debate over what displays of religion are constitutional. The district is in Jackson, a city of about 7,000 in mostly rural Appalachian Ohio.

The district said in Tuesday's filing that the club would be harmed by an order to remove the portrait that has been on display for decades. The portrait is now on a wall alongside a trophy case.

The portrait is "private student speech in a limited public forum," which is protected by the Constitution's free speech clause, the district argued.

ACLU of Ohio spokesman Nick Worner said after the portrait was moved that "it is still an unconstitutional endorsement of religion on the part of a public school." The groups said in court documents Monday that the move was "nothing more than a contrived pretext to conceal" what they say is school officials' continued involvement with the maintenance and display of the portrait.

But the district says in court documents that "a limited public forum can exist for specific types of speakers, including student-run clubs at a public school," and said the school has not barred other student groups from putting up portraits in those areas.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Ohio school district: Jesus portrait should stay

CINCINNATI (AP) ? A Jesus portrait in an Ohio high school does not violate the constitutional prohibition against endorsing religion in a public school, and ordering it removed would violate

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Join Our Team!

If you are interested in working for an innovative media company, you can learn more by visiting: